Wordwyrt

wail

/ˈweɪl/WAYL
/ˈweɪl/WAYL

Meaningto wail

Common meaning: make a long, loud cry of grief

Journey through time

  1. Old Norsevæla‘to wail’source
  2. Middle Englishwailen‘lament’source
  3. Englishmeaning shiftslament → make a long, loud cry of griefwail‘make a long, loud cry of grief’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Old Norse væla ‘to wail’.

Roots

  • væla Old Norse “to wail”

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